Kenny's Drive
Kenny's Drive is a 2005 American animated road comedy film produced by DJW Studios for Paramount Pictures. It was the seventh feature film from DJW Studios, as well as its fourth co-directed by Adam Shankman, after Steamin' Hot (2004). In the film, Kenny Wellington (Josh Peck) is halfway through his senior year at Westerview University. He is sent away by his teachers to drive across the country and find materials for a major project. However, the assignment proves to be difficult when Jeff Spudfield (Brad Paisley), the owner of the annual Howdy-Do Country Fair, plans to extend the fair to the entire country. Kenny's only hope is to bring all the materials on his list back to college in time to stop the country fair from taking its place. The film was released on August 26, 2005 to critical praise and was a box office success, grossing over $369 million on its $55 million budget. It was also one of the last DJW Studios films to be released on VHS. A sequel titled Kenny's Drive 2: Hit the Road Again! was planned for a 2014 release, but was removed from its release schedule in favor of Steamin' Hot 2 (2015). Plot Coming soon! Voice cast *Josh Peck as Kenny Wellington *Jason Lee as Mr. Nathans, Kenny's homeroom teacher *Dee Bradley Baker as Principal Volf *Brad Paisley as Jeff Spudfield, the owner of the country fair Additional Voices * Tom Amundsen * Dee Bradley Baker * Greg Berg * Mitch Carter * June Christopher * Robert Clotworthy * David Cowgill * Terri Douglas * Chris Edgerly * Pat Fraley * Jackie Gonneau * Kim Mai Guest * Jason Harris * Bridget Hoffman * Rif Hutton * Anne Lockhart * Mona Marshall * Randall Montgomery * Paul Pape * Chris Phillips * Bradley Pierce * Phil Proctor * Al Rodrigo * Steve Staley * Pepper Sweeney * Claudette Wells * Diz White * Lynnanne Zager Production Development Coming soon! Release Kenny's Drive was originally scheduled for release on November 11, 2005, but on September 10, 2004, it was pushed back to August 26, 2005. Damen Walker stated that the reasoning was due to wanting to have more DJW Studios films released in a season other than the fall (following 2004's Steamin' Hot). Rating The film is rated PG for "some brief mild language, rude humor and beer drinking scenes". More coming soon! Marketing Trailers *A teaser trailer was released on December 12, 2004, and was attached to films such as Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Zina and the Vivid Crew, and Fat Albert. *The first theatrical trailer was released on March 18, 2005 alongside Tj's World: The Movie and other films later, including The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. *The second theatrical trailer was released on May 17, 2005, and was attached to films such as Madagascar and M.I.S.S.I.O.N.. Taglines *One important assignment and a really long car trip to complete it. What could possibly go wrong? *He's taking off on a little bitty trip. Soundtrack : Main article: Kenny's Drive (soundtrack) Release Critical reception The film received largely positive reviews from critics. The film holds a 91% "Certified Fresh" rating on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 8.4 based on 203 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Kenny's Drive is a rare witty and well-paced road comedy with timeless slapstick gags along the way to its true heart." Similar site Metacritic calculated an average score of 86 out of 100 based on 47 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Box office Kenny's Drive opened on August 26, 2005 in the United States and Canada. It went on to earn $43,730,686 during its opening weekend, placing first in its box office during that weekend. The film earned a worldwide total of $369,727,364 by the end of its theatrical run. It was 2005's second highest-grossing animated film behind Madagascar, second highest-grossing Paramount film behind War of the Worlds, and tenth highest-grossing overall film. Home media Kenny's Drive was released on DVD and VHS in both wide-screen and full-screen editions on December 20, 2005. The DVD includes the film's theatrical short, Weatherman, as well as outtakes, deleted scenes, and Stick Figures: A Squiggle Through Time, a 16-minute long documentary film about DJW Studios featuring Damen Walker, the director, producer, and animator. The VHS has only the Weatherman short and some opening previews. Kenny's Drive was released on Blu-ray on May 15, 2007, as the first DJW film to be released in said format, and was re-released on DVD and Blu-ray combo pack on March 10, 2009. Sequel Production for a Kenny's Drive sequel Kenny's Drive 2: Hit the Road Again! began in August 2013 and finished in May 2014. It was set for release on December 5, 2014 but was cancelled due to production of Steamin' Hot 2. Re-development of the film, however, began in September 2015. Transcript Main To see the official transcript of the film, click here. Trailers To see the transcripts for the film's trailers, click here. Category:Films Category:Films distributed by Paramount Pictures Category:2005 Category:2000s Category:Kenny's Drive